Owwww, my pee pee hurts

[Guest VS12]

to all you would be doctors,

 

i was wondering if i should go see the doctor or not. since friday, my penis has been hurting (like, it hurts ALOT), and when i pee, the last few drops contain blood. if i touch the head part of it, there's some pain. i also began developing a fever late friday evening, and grew more and more tired and began developing headahces too. as well, since friday, i had not been able to poop until late sunday evening, when i forced myself to poop by taking my own natural laxative (milk, as i'm lactose intolerant). this condition hasn't improved in these last few days. and i seem to be getting more and more headaches, and growing more and more tired.

 

on the tues, wednesday, and thursday of that week, i had drank a huge amount of cola, and also was eating food that had quite a bit of sugar in it, on every one of those days. to give you a history, before, i'd used to eat these things called craisins, which are loaded with sugar, and it gave me alot of pain when i peed, but was never more than for a few hours or something. i've been drinking plenty of fluids, alot more than i usually do... but don't seem to be feeling any better, and i just pee more which just makes the pain so much worse. should i head out to the ER and wait 10 hours, or wait till tuesday and see the doctor? thanks alot.

[Guest moo]

Sounds like a UTI. You'll need antibiotics. Go to your doctor.

[Guest NurseNathalie]

I think if your symptoms are bad enough to post here for advice... then you probably need an assessment..

 

if what you are asking is: i need to see my doc, can it wait til tuesday or should I go to emerg today? I will also remind you that there is a 'triage' service available to you... if you live in Ontario there is a toll free line (Telehealth Ontario) in which the nurse will go over your symptoms and get a history. she will direct you on whether or not this can wait til morning or not (the nurse is NOT there to replace the doc, and Telehealth Ontario is truly a TRIAGE service.. but the guidelines are set by physicians to check for potential 'red flags' of other problems that may necessitate more urgent assessment) plus.. its PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL. Usually, the sooner you initiate treatment, the sooner it can start to work so you want to be assessed before things get too out of hand.. but if you want a second opinion ABOUT WHEN ITS BEST TO SEE THE DOC/NURSE PRACTITIONER.. try telehealth.

 

their number is: 1-866-797-0000 (im sure there are similar programs in other provinces, and they can be found in your local phone book)

 

just a thought...

(i know how much most docs HATE telehealth.. so please don't shoot me down! its an available option!)

[Guest Elaine I]

Hi Natalie,

 

Not to bash Telehealth... It's not their fault. However, before calling, remember that they are always going to go to the worst possible scenario, because they can't actually see you. The nurses are scripted, and not allowed to vary from the script at all. So, if there is a 99% likelihood of something minor being wrong, but a 1% likelihood of something major, they will triage you as if the something major is wrong. I only say this so that you don't panic when they say that you should call 911 immediately, because if you don't, there is a chance at loss of life or limb. (Yes, we see a lot of these types of calls every day.) I suggest that you call, but also keep everything you're told in perspective.

 

Elaine

[Guest NurseNathalie]

definetely!

 

well said Elaine.. thats one of the drawbacks of having to work with 'strictly defined' guidelines of course: we can't use our own judgment/discretion.. but..having worked there, I think the symptoms you described wouldn't necessitate suggesting an ambulance.. worse case scenario: recommend you see doc in next 0-4 hours.. or probably even a 24h referal (then, you could wait to see your own doc)-

 

they also have the listing of all the walk-in clinics in your area that would be open on a holiday.. so it might be useful that you call them up, if only for this service ... (and its often shorter than having to wait in emerg

[Guest VS12]

unfortunately, i'm from manitoba, so no telehealth for me. i dunno, maybe i'll hold out till tomorrow and see my FP. it just sucks cause i havent had the energy or focus these last few days to do any substantive mcat studying, which is especially important because i'm on that last stretch.>:

[Guest Elaine I]

Absolutely Natalie! My comment about the ambulance was more a general one. I actually called Telehealth once. I figured that I'd try it out, even though I pretty much knew what was wrong. I had a pinched nerve in my neck, but based on the symptoms, they wanted to transfer my call directly to ambulance dispatch! Yikes! I really feel quite badly for the nurses who work at Telehealth. They must get very frustrated.

 

As far as walk-in clinics over ER - absolutely head to the walk-in clinic if it is within their scope. I'm all for advocating less non-essential use of the ED! I didn't actually know that Telehealth had that information - I'll be sure to pass that along. BTW, do you have to provide symptom information before asking about walk-in clinics, or can you just call up and ask where the nearest one is? Doing so would be much easier that searching the yellow pages (as I've done with patients before, when that would be more appropriate than taking them to the ED).

 

Thanks,

Elaine

[Guest Jag]

I think we have something similar to telehealth here in Manitoba too. The ER wait at Seven Oaks hospital isn't that bad, maybe 3 hours or so, you could take your study books there while you wait.

[Guest NurseNathalie]

when you call telehealth Ontario, you are first screened at the start of the call for anything that would necessitate an ambulance dispatch. if so, we get basic info and bring the ambulance dispatch on the line too, and they take it from there.

 

if non-lifethreatening, then we start with a general history, and get some info to start a chart (or update your info if you called before). You have the right to remain anonymous as well, and if you say that at the start of the call then we dont collect demo. data, but we still need to gather some history if you have symptoms.

 

Many services are offered through Telehealth: you may ask to know where the walk in clinics are in your city (or the city you are visiting) and what times they are open. You may ask to speak to the pharmacist (if you have questions about meds)- the pharmacist only works until 11 pm by the way.

there is also a 'recorded information system' in which you can ask to find out more info about an illness or disorder (and as long as you have no symptoms- because then we have to triage you) you can listen to this tape of information.

 

we were also getting the info as it was off the press from SARS (we had to do the initial screening for people going into hospitals/emerg, immediately following the SARS outbreak). we also got all the advisories from the health unit/and MOH- what water shouldnt be consumed in what city.. restaurant outbreaks of food poisonings; etc etc). if someone wanted more info about diseases and conditions, we also had some information that we could give out (verbatim) .. we had tons of calls about West Nile, chicken pox, etc etc

 

you may also ask to be transfered to 'help phone' lines, counsellors, gambling problems, sexual addictions, etc etc

 

when you call for info though, you will always be asked if you are having the symptoms.. because if you do, we need to triage you. YOu may refuse at this point and say 'i only want to speak to the pharmacist.. or i only want the info.. or i only want to know where the clinic is'.

 

In theory, the service was good... the physicians of course, only see those we sent to the clinic/emerg.. but that was only roughly 20% of our daily calls! the rest, we offered home remedies and asked them to call us back the next day...

 

biggest problem with telehealth: its a for-profit company: so there is a BIG push on nurses to get through the call quickly and only give information that the patient asks for.. this was more frustrating then being locked into the 'protocols'. thats why i left... i couldnt do the teaching i needed to do in all good conscience, and felt i wasnt there for my patients.

 

lol.. not sure this info is relevant or even necessary.. just thought i would share

[Guest FrancophoneRN]

Yep, sounds like a UTI…maybe even stones (I had a friend who had them, and it oddly ressembles what you’re describing). And if you’re sexually active, I’d check for STIs as well (it’s my field of expertise) like GC, chlam, syph and HSV. But I would go to my FP right now. Run (if you can), don’t walk. And if the pain gets worse, go to the ER.

 

Oh, and drink clear fluids, no diuretics (tea, coffee, iced tea, soft drinks) or really salty stuff, as it will only make your symptoms worse if it’s a UTI or stones.

[Guest VS12]

so it seems it was a UTI. my doctor just prescribed this apo-cro something or other, i'm guessing it's an antibiotic. i felt better this morning though, i guess that's my body's immune system finally kicking in after all these painful days. fever is down, headaches are down, and it doesnt hurt as much when i pee... though i think i may be bleeding a bit more? back hurts still.

 

could the UTI have been caused by kidney stones? i really think that huge amount of sugar i ingested earlier in that week contributed to the pee pain, cause i felt pee pain first before i ever felt any fever or headahces.

[Guest kellyl20]

Should feel better within 3 days after antibiotics.

Blood...stones? cancer?

Red colour pee....food related?

Back pain due to UTI.

Just guesses.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey,

 

Wear a condom next time- you never know where people have been!

 

Timmy

[Guest DrSahsi]

My two cents:

 

Soliciting medical advice on an internet forum is wholly inappropriate. Not only will you receive responses from people at various stages of medical training (or lack thereof) but there are serious liability issues for medical professionals who dispense medical advice without being able to make a proper and complete assessment of the complaint in question.